No longer the boy I was at ten
abused, badly mistreated
I hid within a shell
Not understanding the pain.
No longer the man I was at twenty
Drugs and alcohol to kill the pain
Looking down the barrel of a gun
Only I had a finger on the trigger.
No longer the man I was at thirty
Sober, married, starting a family
A wife and children
A world full of possibilities.
No longer the man I was at forty
Stressing over bills, working for the man
Houses with white picket fences
Riding the waves of suburbia.
No longer the man I was at fifty
Injured, retirement on the horizon
Children all grown up
We all have a mind of our own.
I am now the man you see in his sixties
Writing poetry, playing with grandchildren
I’ve lived life to the fullest
The future is wide open.